In 2369, when the holographic Moriarty appeared to gain the ability to exit theholodeck, CaptainPicard warned him that the criminal behavior shown in the novels would not be acceptable in the 24th century. The holographic Moriarty assured him that he was not the same as the fictional character from the "scribblings of an Englishman dead for four centuries." (TNG: "Ship in a Bottle")